Poor quality recordings

Oh, great. Yes. Definitely give that a go.

For a quick test, set up one microphone pointing at 12th fret, say a foot away.
Now set the other up the same distance away and angle, but point at the bridge or thereabouts.

Set your gains so that both are kicking out roughly the same level and do a test recording.

Once done you should have two tracks in your daw; Both guitar, same take, sounding slightly different to each other.
Pan those hard L+R and see/hear what happens. ;)

Pointing at the 12th fret but sitting where exactly in relation to the guitar?
Yes will def try that, thanks. But for a more spacious sound, would I want to move it a bit further than a foot away?
 
Boris....panning the same exact track.....one left and one copy right is not a true stereo effect and will not get you what you're looking for. As Steen mentioned........you need two different tracks (for the most part) to even be able to begin to widen your sound. The more I hear what you're saying.....I think your main complaint is that the result is too narrow. Once you've gotten past that........you'll see a big difference and as Steem is saying........that will help you to get to where you want to go.
 
Pointing at the 12th fret but sitting where exactly in relation to the guitar?
Yes will def try that, thanks. But for a more spacious sound, would I want to move it a bit further than a foot away?

Try/listen/move/repeat,
but for a quick test I'd stick with a foot or so distance.

The farther away the microphones are, the less pronounced the stereo effect is.

For your first experiment with stereo mic setups, I wouldn't worry too much about exact position etc. You'll find your own preference in time.
For now, just do it and see how it sounds. ;)
 
Just single microphone, panned centre, is ideal for vocals.
99 times out of 100 you want them to be close and centred in your mix.
 
No idea. :p
I'm a simple man. I turn the knob and the sound moves.

Just saw your edit : No need for additional plugins right now. Just built-in daw pan is fine.


Depending on your software, if you're recording to a stereo audio track, the panning may already be done by default.
It would be in Protools, for example.
 
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I don't know Studio one but, from looking at images, I think if your guitar (two microphones) is recorded to one stereo track, leave the pan control in the middle.
If you've recorded it as two separate mono tracks, pan one hard left and one hard right.

In terms of what you're going to hear, right now, it doesn't really matter which of those you do.

Either way, just make sure you're definitely getting the feed from both microphones.
 
I don't know Studio one but, from looking at images, I think if your guitar (two microphones) is recorded to one stereo track, leave the pan control in the middle.
If you've recorded it as two separate mono tracks, pan one hard left and one hard right.

In terms of what you're going to hear, right now, it doesn't really matter which of those you do.

Either way, just make sure you're definitely getting the feed from both microphones.

What do you do if you want a metronome? Studio one 3 has one, but you can hear it clicking from my headphones into the mic so it gets picked up. What do you do in that case? If you use one that is
 
Haven't listened to the track yet - OP has a lot of feedback!

If I use 2 mics on a guitar, even if it's a matched XY pair, I still record as two mono tracks. That gives me the flexibility to mix it as stereo (panning them L/R as wide as I want to hear) or simply balance the two to a single location (i.e., same pan on both). Just me, though.
 
Ok, I listened, but I suspect that site has a lot of compression going on, which is why I'm always curious about getting the original, uncompressed track.

It lacks a bit of air/sparkle and possibly even bass, but softly strummed (with fingers?) isn't going to pop without a little closer micing, and then technique can start to be more important. (The LDC will pick up all kinds of little things you never hear because your brain filters them out when your bent over your guitar sounding totally awesome :) - DAMHIKT.)
 
What do you do if you want a metronome? Studio one 3 has one, but you can hear it clicking from my headphones into the mic so it gets picked up. What do you do in that case? If you use one that is

You just have to try to balance things such that it's not a problem.
That can be tricky when recording soft subtle performances.
Most of the time, it shouldn't be.

Headphones with good isolation can help a lot.
 
Also, what do you guys think of plugging guitar straight into the recording device? ie. Direct. What are the benefits there versus recording into a mic?
I can't seem to hear much difference in my recordings between the 2, but I'm sure there should be some.
 
You just have to try to balance things such that it's not a problem.
That can be tricky when recording soft subtle performances.
Most of the time, it shouldn't be.

Headphones with good isolation can help a lot.
Closed back headphones are a must, but even those can be problematic in those quiet parts, as [MENTION=43272]Steenamaroo[/MENTION] says. I've got a couple recordings of myself where it's obvious on the fade at the end. Annoying but not important enough to fix.

If you really want to fix it, I'd block out with markers the actual arrangement in the DAW before you start, then put a percussion loop in, perhaps a shaker or something less mechanical than the click/metronome, and even fade it up/down as necessary. Do that first, then eliminate it once you've got your rhythm track down. I.e., use the guitar track for timing on subsequent tracks and turn off the click. I generally only find it really intrusive on vocal parts, since the guitar mic is not usually close enough for it to matter and the mic pattern eliminates the little bit seeping out through my sinus/nasal passages or wherever it's coming from :).
 
Also, what do you guys think of plugging guitar straight into the recording device? ie. Direct. What are the benefits there versus recording into a mic?
I can't seem to hear much difference in my recordings between the 2, but I'm sure there should be some.

Direct recording has its place but it's generally artificial sounding.
Not as pleasant, in my opinion, if you're looking for an authentic live-recording sound.

You also have no option of a stereo image, which doesn't help.

A lot of people record the direct as a backup, or as an extra track to consider blending in subtly.
I don't even bother now.

How did your stereo recording go?
 
Sorry Keith that second paragraph really confused me.

Not yet Steena, gotta have a nap first, 5:18am here :)

Will post up another test recording some time tomorrow/today.
 
Keith, this part

"If you really want to fix it, I'd block out with markers the actual arrangement in the DAW before you start, then put a percussion loop in, perhaps a shaker or something less mechanical than the click/metronome, and even fade it up/down as necessary. Do that first, then eliminate it once you've got your rhythm track down. I.e., use the guitar track for timing on subsequent tracks and turn off the click. I generally only find it really intrusive on vocal parts, since the guitar mic is not usually close enough for it to matter and the mic pattern eliminates the little bit seeping out through my sinus/nasal passages or wherever it's coming from :) "

Also, how would I go with recording electric nylon guitar? Plugged in or mic like the acoustic ?
 
Oh, great. Yes. Definitely give that a go.

For a quick test, set up one microphone pointing at 12th fret, say a foot away.
Now set the other up the same distance away and angle, but point at the bridge or thereabouts.

Set your gains so that both are kicking out roughly the same level and do a test recording.

Once done you should have two tracks in your daw; Both guitar, same take, sounding slightly different to each other.
Pan those hard L+R and see/hear what happens. ;)

Now that is where I would start.
 
Keith, this part

"If you really want to fix it, I'd block out with markers the actual arrangement in the DAW before you start, then put a percussion loop in, perhaps a shaker or something less mechanical than the click/metronome, and even fade it up/down as necessary. Do that first, then eliminate it once you've got your rhythm track down. I.e., use the guitar track for timing on subsequent tracks and turn off the click. ... "

Also, how would I go with recording electric nylon guitar? Plugged in or mic like the acoustic ?
Oh, that was about the metronome/click bleed into the track you were recording. If you put in something like a shaker loop, and you know when you're playing the intro/verse/chorus/bridge/outro parts, and mark that in your project before you even start to record anything, you'll have a "roadmap" for laying down the first track. Instead of just letting it click, put in some percussion. I've used shaker loops, because they're simple and can fit most any style. Then, once you've got your shaker (instead of a click), you can automate the volume on it so its lower in exposed parts, and even fade it out at the very end, i.e., before that last chord diminishes down to a level that's quieter than the click. (Automating a click's volume might be possible in your DAW - I can in Logic, but it's a bit tedious.) Anyway, the idea is to simply have something that can be always lower in volume than what your recording, but still heard when you need to hear it. And, if it bleeds through a tiny bit, it might even sound like it's supposed to be there :). But, you can just mute that loop after the guitar is recorded, since everything else can work off that rhythm.

I'd record nylon string with a mic, just like steel string, but play with some different mic positions (again).
 
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